Our Bathroom with the Hand-Painted Floor

Paint went a very long way in the bathroom on the third floor. The biggest change was the tumbling blocks pattern that I painted onto the wood floor, but I also changed out hardware and fixtures while the major pieces remained the same.

The ceiling, walls, and floor were all white before, and the door, dresser, window frame, and toilet seat were oak. The ceiling and walls got a fresh coat of white paint, and I painted the floor pattern in shades of pink and red. I painted the door black, left the dresser as-is, painted the window white, and swapped the toilet seat for a black one with a piano finish.

I also switched up the art just outside the bathroom. From the hallway, it all works together.

Between the floor and the paintings in the hall, I thought any art in the bathroom itself ought to be subtle. I printed out and traced an old illustration of tassels, but wanted to stack two frames on top of one another. I kept thinking to myself “I don’t know what to put here.” So I fancied up the text and wrote it in French, bien sûr.

Everyone wants to know about the vases. They are the cutest! They are also way sold out! Sorry. They were from West Elm, but the artist responsible for the collaboration creates and sells other styles on Atelier Stella. And more recently I picked up these ceramic boxes with a bauhaus influence that are on sale and will surely be gone soon as well. Hurry if you like them.

The door knobs on the entire third floor were switched out to uniform egg & dart knobs that better fit with the original details elsewhere in the Victorian during a round of the One Room Challenge. I also added brass Eastlake hooks to the back of the door for all of the nonexistent towels to hang after all of the nonexistent showers and baths we take in this bathroom. (It function as a powder room for us.) That key is the working key for the lock!

The antique dresser is only 17.5″ deep (most bathroom vanities are 21-24″). It is showing its age and has definitely been secured in place, so removing the top and replacing the counter and sink weren’t options I was interested in. That meant I would be using a centerset faucet with the existing sink and I went with this vintage-style brass faucet.

After all that brass? Black! I replaced the dresser handles with simple Emtek black porcelain cabinet knobs. This meant there were holes to fill and you’ll find them if you’re really looking, but otherwise it’s not noticeable.

I used 12″ Drawer Pull as towel bar along the side of the dresser. I had the hardest time figuring out where to put the dang towel in this room! Above the toilet? Eh, not all that great. On the wall to the left of the mirror? Tried it with a towel ring. It was OK, but it bugged me and limited my flower-arranging-space (so important, you know). The adjacent wall would have been good, but the light switch is there. The side of the dresser seemed like the best place, even if it’s not ideal.

An aside: Magazines are notorious for editing/cropping out the towel! You don’t always realize it until you start looking specifically for ideas on placement and realize that very often, there’s no way to dry your hands. Use your shirt, I guess!

Happy to call this tiny bathroom done. It’s in a dormer popped out of the roofline in our finished attic and I can touch the ceiling with ease, but my it’s cute.

Get the Look

• PAINT COLORS
   • Walls and Ceiling: Simply White, Benjamin Moore
   • Door: Authentic Black, Dutch Boy
   • Floor: Crimson, Puppy Paws, and Odessa Pink, Benjamin Moore
• Hand-Painted Floor, Inspired by Encaustic Cement Tile from Mosaic House
• Antique Oval Mirror (similar), Chairish
• Vintage Floral Paintings, South Loop Loft
• Bette Portrait by Tali Yalonetzki, Artfully Walls
• Gallery Brass Frame, CB2
• Framed Card, People I’ve Loved
• Tassel Illustration, Wiktionary
• White 11×14 Picture Frames, Target
• Globe Table Lamp, West Elm
• Atelier Stella Vases, West Elm
• Mod Black + White Ceramic Boxes, West Elm
• Emtex Black Porcelain Knobs, Wayfair
• Brass Thurman Sconces, Rejuvenation
• 12″ Tolson Drawer Pull, Rejuvenation
• Murchison Hume Soap, Amazon
• Embroidered Stripe Towel, Pottery Barn
• Embroidered Hotel Shower Curtain, Pottery Barn
• Nostalgic Warehouse Egg & Dart Door Knobs, House of Antique Hardware
• Black Toilet Seat, Amazon
• Delta Victorian Brass Toilet Lever, Amazon
• Double Handle Centerset Brass Faucet, Wayfair